Save My Earth
by absent writer
Summary: Fallen angel Bakura must seek out his salvation on Earth after being banished from Heaven. Ultimately, his mortal doppleganger, a student named Ryou, must show him the true meanings of friendship, love, and the perfect soul. Pairings: BYY, BYM.
1. Chapter 1

"Save My Earth"

By yours truly, absent writer.

Yes, that's right, I'm starting yet another story even though I haven't updated my old stories yet. And I will! But first I want to get a chapter or two of this story out of my head to make sure I don't forget it, and I've already planned out the first 12 chapters or so. After that I'm not sure, but this story is going to be a lot longer-winded than my old ones, so it'll be a while before I get there. So bear with me.

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**The heaven, even the heavens, are the Lord's: but the earth hath He given to the children of men.**_** (Ps. 115:16)**_

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"Teacher, where do we come from?" This was the ever-present loaded question Yami had to deal with on a daily basis. No matter what answer he gave there was always an inevitable 'why?' at the end of it. Still, as he had been entrusted with teaching the youngest angels about the world, he would do his best.

"We come from the tree of life, of course. Don't you remember the day you hatched?"

"But why?"

Yami groaned and flared his wings, and the air currents generated easily knocked the youthful-looking angels through the air. He wasn't the Angel of Wind for nothing, though he rarely used his powers. The one who had asked the question sputtered and flapped his half-formed, downy wings in vain to right himself, "I mean, I asked onna the other teachers about why some of us look a little different, like Sere…serenity and he said that when a boy angel and a girl angel get together they---" With another sharp flap Yami cut him off before he could start corrupting the rest of them.

"Let me guess, you were talking with Marik?"

"AND NO OTHER!!" a shout echoed down as another angel approached. Unlike Yami he had tanned skin familiar to angels of fire but his pure white wings that burst from his shoulders were identical. Despite the gaudy jewelry he was fond of wearing it was easy to recognize him anyway, the aura of withering heat immediately clued you in.

As soon as he got within a few yards Yami started herding the younger angels behind him as in his enthusiasm Marik could very well blow the still-developing feathers right off of them.

"Have you been messing around with my lesson plan again? It's hard enough to explain these things what with your talk of…uh…" he suddenly became aware of the dozen or so eyes watching him curiously below windswept locks, "birds and the bees" he finished lamely. He groaned as the children began to clamor over what the birds and the bees were exactly.

"You…you…" he growled, turning to face Marik who was still smirking innocently.

"Wise instructor?" he offered.

"Idiot! That's humans, not angels! And furthermore—' Yami began ranting incoherently. Ever since Marik had gained the rank of High Thrones he had been constantly traveling to Earth and back, which was where he was getting the jewelry from.

_Why is he so interested in humans?_ He thought to himself before the sight of Marik distributing candy (probably stolen) from some human store to his students sent him off on new levels of anger.

A few memorable minutes later Yami had hurled Marik a few hundred yards away with his winds and recollected his class around him in the relative safety of the upper gardens.

Though they were normally used as training grounds the shaded areas would do as a classroom, and today he would at long last tell them what exactly lay below the cloud cover they were so accustomed to.

"Does anyone know what Earth is?" A few chubby hands raised timidly.

"Yes, Mokuba" as he pointed to one of the younger angels with long black hair.

"I asked Serenity and she said that it was…a whole other world! And it's got angels like us only they got no wings and then something about going to sleep and—"

"Yes, that's exactly right" Yami interrupted him there.

"The beings down there are called humans, and there are a few portals between their world and ours, but only some of the higher angels like myself can go through them. I usually don't but as you may have noticed Marik likes to—"

"Well you need to just culture yourself a bit more" said Marik as he popped up out of nowhere, looking on slightly worse after his ordeal. One of his signature golden earrings had been blown off, and Marik fingered his ear agitatedly.

"Ah Yami! The piercing's sealed up again! Just because someone doesn't like cramming his inflated head through the portal doesn't mean you do this!"

Yami sighed and rubbed his temples slowly. He was too tired to even drive off Marik again.

"Anyway, as I was saying, this guy visits Earth way too often. And as Mokuba mentioned, humans are like us in intelligence and in the soul that is immortal. But the difference is that they can die—"

Marik jumped in here, "Yes! And you know what I found out?! After they die their soul, which is identical to ours, just goes wandering around after they die! Like it all meant nothing—"

Yami cut him off, "The difference is that they can die, which they all do eventually, and their soul goes to wander in limbo, which is basically a blank space between the worlds—

"So in other words they just get thrown away, like trash. It would be kinder to kill them. And you know, since they're like us they can commit crimes too, but it doesn't matter what they do, they all end up in limbo…" Marik huffed angrily.

Both angels were riled up now, and to prevent any real fighting which could hurt the younger angels they both sat down and stared down over all of Heaven to calm down. Still grumbling about Marik and puzzling over his passion for these 'humans', Yami caught sight of two angels flying side by side in the corner of his eye. He turned his head to gaze at them fully, and noted how they were gliding gently on the thermals, their wingtips just barely touching, an intimate gestures among the angels. He sighed, _If only I could_ and his thoughts drifted to one other of the great angels of Heaven. Beside him Marik was still cooling off, and at the sight of those two angels he too began to mull on some other secrets. They had finally quieted into a tense truce when--

"Drop something?" and a familiar golden earring was jangled right in front of them, held by two thin, pale fingers. They both whirled around.

"Bakura!!"

The children scattered around and regrouped behind Yami and Marik as they were not as familiar with this angel. He was said to be very understanding and everyone they knew seemed to care for him, but nevertheless as he sat on the left hand of God they were still nervous. Supposedly he had the power to manipulate water.

The said angel towered over them, in brown boots and a long blue trenchcoat that fell to his knees and buttoned across his chest and throat. He hovered slightly in the air without even moving his silver wings, one of the more unique colors in Heaven. His dark clothing served in contrast to his pale, almost clear skin and wild white hair.

And in his gloved right hand he held one of Marik's earrings.

With a triumphant gaze he added, "I found this…floating in the breeze when I came back from the throne room. Fighting again?" he teased Marik and Yami, both of which had descended into a slightly embarrassed silence. Noting the unnatural quiet, he tossed the earring at Marik and said, "What's with you guys? Arguing about Earth again? And you'd better hide those earrings, here comes Kaiba…"

He straightened up to greet the taller stern-looking angel who was coming right at them, or rather, right at the guilty-looking Marik like a hawk on a mouse.

"Marik…" he said calmly once he arrived, ignoring the children who were struck in awe at being in the presence of all 4 great angels as well as Yami and Bakura, "Have you been to Earth again?"

"Yeah…"

"For what?"

"To…" he racked his mind searching for an answer. "To explore the excessive consumerism found there?"

"The only excessive consumer here is you, Marik!!!"

He immediately began yelling and the plants sprouting in the garden started growing long, nasty-looking thorns and began wrap around Marik's feet. With a sigh Yami and Bakura began picking up the younger angels who had yet to learn how to fly properly out of the way of the thorns who had already reached knee-level.

Smiling slightly Bakura set down two of them in one of the more friendly-looking trees that was less likely to succumb to Kaiba's will/torture Marik and then headed out of the shade to the practice range.

From beneath his coat he drew out a long, somewhat unremarkable sword and gripped it in both hands. He twirled it once, twice, and then it began spinning in circles with a flick of the wrist and the dull metal began to shine. The shine of light reflecting off the water that suddenly began flowing out of the blade, and with a heave Bakura swung the sword into the ground. The water that had been peacefully spinning the air a moment ago followed the blade into the ground and began bursting out of cracks heading toward a distant target. A faint thud sound was heard as the target was split into pieces and Bakura turned to face the struggling Marik, who by now was up to his kneck in the vines which were curiously resistant to the flames that kept bursting out between them.

Kaiba was focused entirely on him, apparently determined to actually kill him this time. Bakura stabbed his sword into the ground again, and for a moment nothing happened. Yami looked at his feet and saw the formerly lush earth suddenly go dry and turn into dust, and he looked at the vines wrapped around Marik. Rather than wrap around his throat like Kaiba was likely trying to do instead they were drying out and their leaves and thorns were crumpling and falling to the ground.

Kaiba saw what was happening and looked between Marik and Bakura, clearly unable to decide between which to kill first. At last he snapped his fingers and the vines were released, and Bakura drew his sword back from the earth, allowing the water to replenish itself.

"We still need him alive to pay back his debts" he said with a smile, sheathed his weapon, and took off to the levels below.

The others were left wondering what they could have done against that, as Bakura rarely, if ever, showed any sign of his power.

"Hi everyone!!!" and the rest of the group turned to see the new arrival. The high-pitched voice told them immediately that it was Serenity, one of the few female angels living in Heaven. The new generation that was in Yami's class was all males, albeit immature ones, and said class was already eagerly stumbling to grab onto Serenity's feet. She gave them a warm smile but sternly told them to go play below, and Yami gave them a gentle boost with a warm gust of wind. They struggled in vain, some using the female angel as an anchor but within a few seconds all were scattered like dandelion seeds.

Though not a member of the Great Thrones Serenity still held a high position among them. She was lacking any elemental affinities, but she had an uncommon insight and understanding of character that allowed her to easily bend anyone to her will. As a result, she served as a negotiator in all arguments, though as of yet none had erupted into fighting, except in Marik and Kaiba's case.

Upon landing she took note of Marik's disheveled, aka massacred appearance and the changed position of the trees.

"Was Bakura here?" she asked eagerly as the cracks in the ground were unmistakably his handiwork.

"What do you want him for?" Yami asked as Marik was still pulling dead leaves out of his mouth, which apparently had been trying to choke him.

She grinned sweetly. "Nothing, really. I just wanted to say hi!!! Also, we have some sort of meeting to attend. Apparently _somebody_," and she slanted her head meaningfully at Marik, "has been complaining about the status of Earth". Immediately the aura around Kaiba fouled, but subsided when Serenity dragged them all away, following the faint light trail Bakura had left behind.

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First chappie finished! Anyway, some of you may have noticed that I borrowed (stole) the title from a manga series. I haven't read that series, all I know is that is has something to do with the moon and it has a great cover. Don't expect any plot similarities, though it could happen.

I got the idea for this story from a friend and it's going to be one of my more talkie-type stories. Usually I prefer action but this one's more for drama. You don't have to read it if you don't want to, and if you do be sure to review. It's the only way I know if anyone is actually reading this. And no worries, I'm busy now but once summer comes I'll be writing all the time so all my stories will be updated. Maybe even the one that I left on hiatus cough ditched. It's not YGO, if that's what you want to know.

R&R EVERYONE!!!


	2. Chapter 2: The Beginning of the End

SAVE MY EARTH

Chapter 2 : The Beginning of the End

By: Absent Writer

Disclaimer: I don't own YGO or any of the characters, etc…if I did, it would be called "Yami-no-Bakura!", and several beloved (by other people) characters would disappear forever. But I don't, so it's still "Yu-Gi-Oh!" While I'm sure no one would complain if I claimed ownership of "YGO Capsule Monsters", I'll just dodge the bullet and say no.

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The shining paradise the angels called their home was made of many areas, each with its own unique appeal, according to the elements. The upper gardens were only one small part of Heaven, though the lush plant life displayed there was a constant fixture throughout the entire kingdom. However, though Marik dismissed it as a rumor spread by Yami's idiotic so-called "students", supposedly the garden was the place where Heaven touched the Earth, and thus was the source of all mortal life.

Naturally, of course, it was a popular place for the elemental angels particularly attuned to the Earth, and it had been foolish for him to challenge his three comrades who would be strongest there. Specifically Yami and Kaiba, as both of their abilities were born with the land, but luckily for him Bakura had been there as well to save him from their rightful vengeance. After all, all life on Earth came from water.

_And it's the natural complement to my flames…_

This thought snuck up on the tanned guardian without warning, and he shook his bedraggled head to banish it as he and the other angels descended from the gardens to the throne room, the source of all their light. Though his day had been obviously not as pleasant to start with as he could have hoped, the figures he saw walking about below him could only make it worse.

"What's wrong Marik? I thought you liked spending some…family time…" Yami yelled out from behind him in mid-air.

Though the mentioned youth did not turn around to look at him he could still feel the arrogant smirk through his back. Unfortunately, though crude, the arrogant wind guardian was right. Marik could see his two siblings about twenty feet below him already prepared for the impending meeting. Perhaps it was their unique skin tones, or maybe it was the incessantly bright golden items dangling around their necks.

He and Yami came in for the approach, the former landing on the tiled floor rather gracelessly. The tanned angel quickly got to his feet despite his sore ribs, as his twin brother, Malik, tended to take the phrase "walk all over people" quite literally, and at every opportunity.

"That's why fledglings should never leave the nest, you know…" his brother drawled as soon as Marik had recovered himself.

"You could say that they just aren't quite…grown up enough yet."

Said 'fledgling' scowled and retorted without thinking, "Yeah? Well bad eggs get chucked out of the nest early!"

As he said this, he compulsively brushed his left wrist against the golden staff tucked into the back of his robes. The condescending look on the older twin's face vanished, and the trademark lavender eyes took on a crimson hue. On cue, the air around the two began to heat up from an invisible source, and Marik was quick to imitate him, only doubling the potential for disaster.

"Stop it!"

And the second of the few notable female angels as well as the only one permitted a chair in the throne room, Ishuzu, interfered. As the second oldest of the family, she felt compelled to compromise the two brothers whenever danger arose, which was quite often a spectacle enjoyed by most of the higher angels.

The gaudy, golden necklace around her neck glinted menacingly, the inner eye almost glowing. At the unnatural light, both Marik and Malik backed down; though Ishuzu did not have one of the four elemental gifts, the 'fortune-telling contraption', as Marik put it in a private conversation with Yami and Bakura, meant that she could foresee the moves and strategies of her opponents. In other words, if she challenged someone to a fight, even someone more powerful than her, it was likely that she had already predicted her victory.

Of course, there was always the chance that she was bluffing, but the last time he had taken that chance he had lost nearly all the feathers on his right wing, a humiliating condition that had left him unable to face anyone for weeks. Particularly Bakura, in his moment of 'plucked-turkey look'. Or so Kaiba had rather insensitively commented seconds after the brief scuffle.

"Enough!" and the oldest of the 4 siblings arrived, Shadi. Though he could hardly be called their brother, as he had lived for decades before Ishuzu's 'birth'. As such, he commanded a near-fatherly authority over the three, though lately Malik had been ignoring his advice.

As usual, he wore plain white robes and matching turban. But his simple attire betrayed nothing of his own formidable abilities. He too lacked any elemental powers, but the ankh constantly strung around his neck allowed him to enter another's mind and take absolute control. Why he had never used this to root out the cause of sibling disputes, no one knew, though Marik reckoned that his twin brother's mind was far too disturbing even for the likes of Shadi.

Though he did love the idea of Malik being a blank puppet instead of his identical twin. Their connection always made him wonder if they truly thought alike. It was true, the circumstances that had given Marik the golden staff in his robes and a dominance over the fire element despite the fact that he was the younger of the two brothers may have set the two on different tracks, leading to many conflicts. But he still couldn't shake the thought that he was much more like his demented brother than he would want others to know about.

Especially Bakura and Yami, who were both known to have an extreme dislike of his twin. As usual, grudges against Malik did not come from an openly hostile attitude, he was far too careful for that, but from instinct.

Speaking of those two…

Accompanying Shadi was Bakura, and he beckoned them to their respective seats while pointedly ignoring the simmering feud. For some reason his eyes lingered a bit longer on Marik than expected, giving the angel a slight flush on his face. Thank God for his skin tone, as it was easier to hide his emotions by disguising blushes.

Naturally, his three other siblings were like rocks, with little emotion playing across their faces, and little, hesuspected, in their minds as well. But perhaps that would soon change, if this meeting had been summoned for the reason he suspected.

His family lined up somewhat meekly behind Shadi, who tailed Bakura and Yami to the seven magnificent thrones set in a row in the front of the auditorium-sized room. They were all made out of pure gold, supposedly created at the same time a thousand years ago as the tokens all of the higher angels had, excepting Malik. Thus the origin of the term 'Millenium items'.

Personally, that seemed like a rather vague name for such symbols and actual containers of power. Briefly, as he took his seat next to Bakura, he imagined a group of rather elderly angels contemplating all of seven of them and trying to find anything in common.

His eyes flicked across all seven, at the far left was Malik, delightedly item-less, then himself bearing the Millenium Rod, and next to the large podium in the middle of the room was Bakura, wearing the Millenium Ring.

The podium itself, which supposedly represented God in their midst and was also used as a speaking platform in debates, bore the all-seeing Millenium Eye.

"Big Brother's watching you…" he chuckled to himself, and his brother snorted disdainfully on his left side. He had always had a painfully obvious enmity for all mortal life.

Marik rolled his eyes, though he couldn't help but think that maybe his brother wanted the eye for himself, instead of being forced to leech off of his younger brother's powers to develop a fire core of his own. But that was for a different time and place.

Behind the podium was Kaiba, the stiff head angel who carried the Millenium scales. He was glad he didn't have that particular item, as it both forced the angel bearing it to be the judge of all the other denizens of the realm and legislator of the mortal world and also looked very inconvenient to carry around. However, Kaiba seemed to view these disadvantages as badges of pride, and loved to lord it over the rest of the thrones that he had more power than any one of them. The fact that his power spoke of so close a connection to the Earth seemed to validate his over-bearing ego.

Privately, Marik thought of Bakura, the angel of water, as the true source of Earth's life and therefore a necessary ally of Kaiba. The white-haired man seated so close was valuable in more ways than one.

And the completely opposite of the one on his left side.

Moving on, on the right side of the podium was as follows, Shadi with the Millenium Key, Yami with the Millenium Puzzle (Marik had once dared him to break it apart and then put it together again just to prove he could and then promptly stole a piece, leaving the tri-color angel searching Heaven tirelessly for weeks until fellow thrones, concerned with his health, discovered the piece buried in a compost pile), and Ishuzu with the Millenium Necklace.

As far as he could tell, the only thing the 'items' had in common, for the most part, was the eye, so maybe they would all have been 'Millenium eyes', only one of them already had that name and it could get very confusing---

"Marik? Anyone there? I think the star of the show should at least pretend to be slightly interested, you know…" Yami's grating voice cut through him like glass, and he sent a vicious glare around the podium at the wind angel.

Then it hit him, 'star of the show'? Maybe he had been right about this meeting after all. Unexpectedly he started sweating slightly, a condition helped in no way by his flickering fire core.

"Would you please explain these reports Marik?" The tanned angel stood up from his seat among the High Thrones and took Kaiba's place at the center. Despite being one of the four elements, he had never actually spoken before all of them before. He hadn't realized it before, but the ground beneath the stand was actually a few inches higher than the thrones.

_Figures, Kaiba's giving himself another edge. Like he isn't all enough already…_

From his new, slightly elevated viewpoint, Marik glanced over the thrones spreading out on either side. Like wings, maybe.

As Kaiba stood stiffly behind his chair, Yami wondered privately what his friend had to say to them. Leaning back slightly, he saw a flash of white hair, then Marik's empty throne. Supposedly the order itself didn't matter, what was important was that four elemental angels were up there. Yet Yami couldn't help wondering why Marik was seated next to Bakura. He was just as close with the white-haired angel as their current speaker was. Or for that matter, who decided who sat closest to God.

He glanced over to his right as Marik introduced himself to where Ishuzu and Shadi sat stiffly in their chairs, arms folded across their chests and a stern look in their eyes. It was amazing, really, how much they were alike. Both in appearance and in that it was easy to tell what they were thinking.

_Don't screw this up Marik! _He mimed in his head, but did not dare to say aloud, even if it got a laugh from Bakura. Probably Malik too, come to think of it.

"I sent up complaints because of this!" Marik was becoming angry now, and with a burst of unnatural flame he created two images floating above their heads, facing the crowd. They all craned their heads to look.

One was of a young girl, about Serenity's age with her kind expression on her face. The other was of an older man, who though unremarkable in appearance and had a look of desperation.

"What about them?" Kaiba asked.

Marik coughed and stepped in front of the podium to address both the audience of lesser angels seated before him and his fellow Great Thrones above.

"On my last visit to Earth about two days ago…" Kaiba twitched slightly. "I witnessed a murder."

Immediately the younger angels, some of which were children in Yami's class, began whispering to one another.

Mokuba looked like he wanted to ask Yami a question.

"And…" he looked around the audience, seeking out eye contact, "immediately after the girl's murder," he demonstrated at one of the photos above, "her assailant was hit by what humans call a car and was killed. There was nothing I could do to stop it."

Yami looked at his face closely, did he hope to save their lives?

Said speaker suddenly swiveled around to face him, "Yes, I did hope to save them!"

Even Kaiba raised his eyebrows. Though his brother Shadi had limited abilities to read one's thoughts, Marik had rarely showed any such subtle talents. Then again, he knew Yami well enough to predict what he was thinking anyway.

"And the reason why I wanted to save them was because in the human world they punish the unjust! There were witnesses besides me, _human_ witnesses, and if he hadn't been killed that man would have at least spent his life in jail. Instead…both their souls went to limbo, and you all know what that means." He began walking agitatedly from one end of the court to the other.

"It means they'll lose their own identities!

"And why, exactly…" Kaiba's skeptical voice filled the room in the middle of Marik's speech, "are you bringing this up?"

To this, he gave a simple reply, knowing the explosive effect it would have in the crowded room. "I propose that we judge human souls ourselves."

There was utter silence. To Marik's relief, no one laughed outright, but instead just looked a bit confused. He couldn't help glancing out of the corner of his eye at Bakura, still on his throne. Said angel merely looked thoughtful.

"Look at it this way…over a thousand years ago we sent out selected humans, prophets I believe they were called, to establish the covenant between Heaven and Earth. In exchange for their creation and salvation, the people would owe their eternal allegiance to us, but how have we been treating them fairly?"

He left the podium at this point and began walking back and forth in front of the crowd. "Even if the human soul is not really the same as ours, the more attention you pay them, the more they are like us! We are given immortal life in Heaven with the Lord" he gestured to the Millenium Eye that was still keeping watch over the precedings, "because of our unwavering loyalty to him and to the laws! Shouldn't humans be rewarded for their own faithfulness?"

A spark of hope glimmered in his heart as he saw several nodding heads. Few angels had ever had contact with Earth, so he could only rely on reason and logic, and not on any personal appeals. Even Kaiba had to agree with him on this, though no doubt he would try to find as many holes as poss—

"Fair enough. But answer this, then. Who shall bell the cat?" Kaiba said dryly and smirked. Privately, he did follow the boy's logic, but it was still a trivial matter. No doubt one of Marik's pet projects. He had good intentions, yes, and strong ideals so characteristic of the young (relative in this case). But he still lacked a grasp of the reality of the situation. If he knew the facts like Kaiba did…well, that was assuming he'd even accept them in the first place. The point was that the Shadi's brother had very little idea of what he was talking about, and it was his duty to stamp this out.

"Well…we could form a separate committee, or make it another duty of the thrones…"

"Another red line, then…"

"But it—"

"Enough. Vote to dismiss this topic?"

Marik hung his head in defeat. They had barely given him five minutes to present! And with three malevolent siblings on with arms raised along with Kaiba, the meeting was over.

"I can't believe it!"

Marik had been ranting about the meeting for the last hour while pacing around in the gardens. Yami and Bakura looked very bored, and were merely killing time by doing a check-up on various possessions.

The former had disassembled his puzzle and was trying to put it back together again. Though Marik was obviously preoccupied, he kept a close eye on the pieces scattered before him. Bakura had finally removed the scabbard hidden under his coat, and was currently examining its occupant for any flaws.

As usual, none could be found. Rather wistfully named 'Ragnarok' upon acquiring it, Bakura had in the decades since taken immaculate care of it. Though it had yet to be used in a real battle, nevertheless it spent nearly every day being manhandled during practice sessions in the gardens. Yami was still examining one of the more complex puzzle pieces when a glint of light reflected off the blade caught his eye.

He abandoned the puzzle (temporarily) to get a closer look, as it was rarely seen so still out of its protective covering. At first glance, there was nothing remarkable about it: long, a slim, iron break between the handle and the blade with a simple wave pattern, and a worn leather handle. However, in the hands of its rightful owner it became much more. He could swear the thing had a will of its own, and knowing the amount of his own power Bakura had transferred into it, it just might.

Generally, in order to effectively use one's full strength, only the Millenium item was needed, which was why angels who possessed one (or didn't) were so protective of them. Rather unconventionally, Yami considered wryly, Bakura had practically split his own into both the Ring and the sword. Not many knew this, and Yami prided himself on being one of the few trusted with such a secret. Bakura was never particularly eager to discuss the mechanics of said division, and if he had it would have been considered alarming that he could subdue Kaiba with only the Ring.

"So what do you guys think?"

"Wha---?" Yami replied, dragging his eyes away from the now-sheathed blade.

"Never mind. I can't possibly come up with a comeback for your witty remarks."

"Shut it, for once. Did Kaiba teach you your lessons? Twice today? Or rather, this morning, I think there's still time for you to completely humiliate yourself again this afternoon."

Marik glared at the edge of the garden, to the distant throne room where the meeting had ended long ago. "It's not my fault he's like a rock. I think I know why now he's the Angel of Earth. It explains how he got that stick up his ass."

"Language now…you're picking up too much from humans, you know. That's how this all got started." Yami pulled all the puzzle pieces into a little golden mountain in front of him.

"I'm tired of talking with you. And you didn't even answer the question. You think my idea would work, or not?"

"Well…" Bakura stood up and hooked the sword back onto his belt, "Are you sure you thought it through all the way? It didn't seem like you had a plan when you got up there…"

"Well, they could at least have considered it! What about you, Yami?"

Said angel grinned up at him. "Ask me no questions and I shall tell you no lies."

"In other words, if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all" Bakura added with an amused glance downwards.

"Exactly." Marik just looked on, scowling. "Might as well talk to trees instead…"

"But I don't agree with the saying. No offense, but this sounds like one of your pet ideas. Like, more grounds for the garden, make someone else teach the kids, let's boot Kaiba off the Thrones…do you really take humans seriously?" Bakura looked at him expectantly as he finished, one eyebrow raised.

"So you think I'm a kid now too, do you?" Marik's voice was low, a sign that the conversation had just entered dangerous territory. "Like Ishuzu? Shadi? Marl—"

"You know we're not like him! Cool it, will you?" Yami had completed the puzzle in record time, and now it hung around his neck, dazzling in the sun.

"Is that supposed to be a joke?" Marik's temper had already been raised, and it was only the slightly angered look on Bakura's face that made him back down. "Why am I fighting with you two? It's Kaiba that's the one…oh, I'll give him more red tape. Thinks he's always right, always perfect…" he grumbled to himself, and the other two angels took it as a sign that they were forgiven, for the time being. However, his last word had caught Yami's interest.

"Perfect…hey, have either of you guys ever heard of the 'perfect soul'?"

"Can't say I have. I hope you're not talking about Kaiba. Mercy killing may not be exactly approved of, but in your case, we'll have no choice abo—"

"Of course not." Yami interrupted Marik to head off another one of his 'Kaiba rants'. "It's more like an idea that some of my students and the other teachers like to talk about. Bunch of wanna-be philosophers, probably, but the concept is kind of interesting. What do you think of it?" This time, he directed the question at Bakura, who had been ignoring Marik's tirades.

"I'm still thinking. You?"

"Probably…someone that's loyal. In that book Marik brought up once, 'Divine Comedy' or some other name like that, traitors got punished the most at death. So logically, the loyal must be the best. A soul that never betrays its friends and bears its responsibilities…that sounds about right to me. What about you, Marik?"

"Geez…you sounded like a king up there. Too bad no one respects y—" he glowered darkly at the tanned angel. "Well, it seems simpler to me. God's supposed to be the perfect one around here, right? So a soul that's loyal to him, one that's never sinned, one in his graces, that's the perfect one."

As if on cue, both of them turned to Bakura, who was still concentrating hard , looking down at the ground. The other two couldn't help but follow his gaze, half-expecting some marvelous treasure or perhaps some writing on the ground. There was nothing but a slightly shriveled plant with one or two yellowing buds. It looked like it had received the brunt of Marik's wrath.

"Ugly, huh…" they both nodded in agreement, not quite sure if he had understood the unspoken question or not. Normally, the white-haired angel was good at hearing things that didn't need to be spoken. "That plant. It's all dried up…but look at the buds. I don't know what type it is, but in a few days, it'll be just like all the others flowering right now…"

Apparently he had not understood. "The question, Bakura?"

"Oh yeah…well, 'perfect' is kind of a relative thing, isn't it? To be the epitome of something…that something depends on the person. For you," he pointed to Yami, "you value friendship and responsibilities the most. And you, Malik, you are thankful to God after that whole 'brother' episode where you got the better of him thanks to His intervention."

"You haven't answered the question yet." Yami spoke this quietly, looking right at him, willing him to meet his gaze. Suddenly, the question seemed very important, and his heart beat faster, though there was no reason for alarm. The garden was peaceful, a gentle breeze swaying the tree branches above them…no Kaiba or any other member of Marik's family in sight. The one who was here was also listening closely, though neither had no way to know that their pulses matched.

"Well…that's a rather personal question, isn't it?" Bakura smirked, then stood up and walked over to the low garden wall.

"I'll see both of you later then, alright? That's enough philosophy for one day, I think." And with that, he jumped over the barrier and disappeared from view.

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Whew! And I suppose now any and all readers will be going, 'nothing happened! And what was the point of that last scene?!"

All in due time, I assure you.

Anyway, the reason I've been so busy lately and thus ignoring most of my fics is b/c I have recently been delving into the world of fanart. The difference is art vs. fiction. Getting to the point, I have tried my hand at sketching, and have created an 'advertisement', for this fic. I like how it turned out, and I'd love to hear some opinions about it in reviews or actual comments on the site, which I will post below. It's a little big, but that's my fault. It still came out right-side up, which I think is an accomplishment.

Anyway, I can't post a link cuz it keeps deleting it, so here's what you do...

go to google, search fanart, and select the first site to come up, which is called fanart/central. From there, go to browse categories, then anime/manga, then Yu-Gi-Oh! (series), then Bakura. Make sure your limits for violence/nudity/sex/profanity/etc...are set high, cuz my pic has violence: moderate. It's not bad, just a mild spoiler. Sorry about the hassle, but it's a fun thing to do when you get bored of reading constantly, right? And I think it's a nice pic. I'll try to put a link on my profile.

Also, as always, review review review, b/c I want to know how I'm doing so far, as some parts of this chapter were rushed.

Also, for readers of 'Lost Beneath the Waves', when my laptop broke down (which I mentioned before), it took all my old chapters/outlines of that, so literally the only thing I have left is the version you're all reading. So as you can imagine, I don't have much to go on, but I'll update as soon as I can. I haven't abandoned it yet!

Finally, recently my interests have become fixated on Harry Potter and Yami no Matsuei, and I am actually writing stories now for both, though the HP one is just a spoof. Feel free to look at them both. They may distract me, but not that much.

Happy summer!

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	3. Chapter 3: Friend or Foe?

SAVE MY EARTH (SME)

Chapter 3: With Friends Like These, Who Needs Enemies?

By: absentwriter, who has once again reappeared on the face of the earth. Another full turn of the moon and she may return to feed.

Disclaimer: I don't own "Yu-Gi-Oh!" or any of its characters. If I did, it would not be a PG-13 series.

Unlike most people, Rishid never regretted anything.

It wasn't the old explanation that led the man to such beliefs, that is, that 'it's not like you can do anything to change the past anyway'. True, even if he had done something he wished he hadn't throughout his thirty-two years of life, nothing could be done about it.

And the young (relatively, in more ways than one) businessman was certainly one of the pragmatic types to focus more on the present and the immediate future than on buried memories.

But he had a different reason to be perfectly satisfied with the way he had lived.

As he liked to coach his younger business partners during weeknight meetings, "Every action has a reaction. That's not just a basic law of physics, but it applies to people as well. Not physically, necessarily, but mentally, spiritually…whether or not an errant butterfly is creating typhoons in India, everything we do has an irremovable effect on the world around us…"

In other words, he would never take back any of his actions, as who knows how many good works and events had sprung from them, or even how many immoral.

Which is why, lying in the gutter outside some darkened apartment buildings, his life-blood seeping away into the drain along with the heavy raindrops pelting his upturned face, he was more than ready to accept the inevitable.

The pain in his side was erratic, one minute a slow burn and the next a piercing jab rippling down his ribs to settle in his abdomen.

In the movies, after getting stabbed in the side in the process of haplessly rescuing some old woman's purse, or in the case a colleague's wallet, the hero plucks up his strength and wrestles the attacker to the ground. Or, perhaps he dies in the arms of a weeping lover, or a close friend.

That evening, Rishid did neither.

There was no sign of his friend, who had been held at knife-point in the alleyway when he had walked in on the scene, and the mugger had long since fled. And considering the most awkward phone call of his life three days ago, his long-time fiancée would not be arriving to shed any tears, even if they were reptilian.

Perhaps he had acted rashly upon seeing him in danger, maybe even foolishly. He could have done so much with the rest of his life, given to charity, formed a corrupt-free business, or another sort of typical 'American dream'.

Nevertheless, when Rishid breathed his last at 11:13 pm that night, he regretting nothing, from earlier that evening or his whole life.

The only thing that remained, the butterfly, if you will, was a sense of accomplishment.

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The first winds began to blow when not one, but two brothers walked in on the same Rishid walking around the Gardens.

When he had first opened his eyes at least several hours ago, he had had no idea where he was. A white hospital ceiling would have been welcome, the face of the mugger returning to finish him off not so much, but a lush canopy dangerously weighed down with assorted fruits was just…unexpected.

After recovering from his surprise, he had been extremely grateful for this lush meal that was apparently for the taking. Unfortunately, to his chagrin, he seemed unable to seize the fruits. It reminded him loosely of an ancient Greek myth, of the king cursed to be forever hungry and thirsty as all fruit and water remained out of his reach.

But the branches did not infuriatingly as well as impossibly dodge his flailing fingers. It was just that his hands seemed to go right through it.

Which led to the question, was he a ghost vainly struggling to eat again, or were the trees above him and bushes around him hallucinations? He hoped for the latter, though he would not be surprised by either one.

Upon seeing two tanned youths approaching him, chatting/arguing unconcernedly at each other, he waved his hands and called out to them.

It was only when they had caught sight of him and hurried over curiously that he noticed their…extra appendages.

Trees were one thing. But angels? Probably the former possibility, then.

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Marik had found himself at the brunt of one of his sister's 'family-bonding' lectures as soon as he woke up at dawn that morning. There were only two methods of escape. One, get a friend to rescue him, which from Bakura and Yami's guffaws was not likely to happen. Or two, just do whatever she wants just to end it.

Without even listening to her rant, he had foolishly agreed.

"Yes! Yes! Fine, whatever you want! Just shut up already!"

And in doing so, he had blindly rushed into a plan Ishuzu called 'walking in each other's shoes', that is, spending the whole morning strolling about the gardens, possibly even arm-in-arm, with his behated twin brother to 'get to know each other a bit better'.

It was about two hours, fifty-eight minutes, and twenty-one agonizing seconds later that he found himself investigating the strange angel, probably a newbie, screaming for help in the gardens.

_Probably got stuck in one of Kaiba's nettles again. I swear, those plants reflect his personality. _

Once they arrived, Marik leading and Malik obligingly following him, the oddity about the latter's behavior going unnoticed by the younger of the two, something very important about the strange man was brought immediately to their attention.

That is, he was no angel. And it didn't take the younger brother's years of experience on Earth to know that it was a human soul in the most inappropriate of places.

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Over an hour later, the Throne Room was once again crowded with the winged denizens of all types. Only this time, they had a special 'guest' given his own chair in front of the thrones.

Marik folded his arms across his chest and grumbled low in his throat. Though so far this 'Rishid', as he had hesitatingly introduced himself, had been greeted by mild curiosity to slack-jawed gaping by some of the younger angels. He was sure that some of Yami's students had been in that mix as well.

And now he was sitting alone on that small chair before all the thrones, with God's 'Eye' fixed on him as well as His supposed right-hand man interrogating him like a prisoner. He had seen many errant angels, both young and old, end up in that exact same place he had been speaking the day before, and at least not the worst techniques had been used on the human. Though Rishid was seated on a small stool which contrasted comically with the elaborately engraved thrones before him, he was neither bound nor gagged. Though that may have been because of the presumed 'weakness' of the human body, dead or not.

Despite his disapproval of the techniques, they did reveal many crucial facts. First off, Rishid was a human, and from his tale of late-night heroics, a dead one. Secondly, most likely his mortal body had long since been left behind in that gutter, and the being in front of them today was his soul. Third, instead of going into limbo, this soul had gotten into Heaven.

"How did you enter this realm? Do you remember anything after losing consciousness? Did someone help you, did you—" the questioning had yet to end, and Marik was getting annoyed.

"Tone it down a little! It's not his fault for coming in here. From the sounds of it, he has more of a right to be here than you!"

Kaiba turned his gaze from Rishid to his new and favorite victim. "Most likely he wandered in through one of your portals to Earth. Got a little careless, him? Just what I would expect from a slacker like you."

"I'm not a—"

"Oh, so maybe you left it open? Hoping one of _them_ would baby-step their way into Heaven? To prove a point?"

"Both of you, shut it, okay?" Bakura decided to step in before they got into a shouting match. The fact that Marik had just spent half his day with his despised older brother boded ill for any compromises with Kaiba today. In addition, coincidence or not, he had another chance to pursue his failed proposal.

Kaiba growled, but remained silent. After all, Bakura had proven that he could overpower him, so he had no choice but to submit. At least that little…mutt would keep his mouth shut as long as the white-haired angel was around.

_Man's best friend, eh? Wants to be more than that, from the way he's been sim—_

"It doesn't matter how he got in, so no pointing fingers, okay? However much I would love for you two to finally have it out and end this stupid fight, we need to figure out what to do with Rishid, now that's he here."

"Throw him out."

"Keep him here."

Kaiba swirled around to face the speaker. Oddly enough, it was not just one voice, but two.

And the other speaker was, Malik? Jaws dropped even lower to see Marik's notorious twin brother step gracefully off his throne and sweep over to Rishid's side. Placing a hand on the trembling man's shoulder, he turned to face the audience, by his brother's side.

"Why not let him stay? If his story is truthful, and if it wasn't Shadi would have corrected him by now, then he has the right to be rewarded. Like the girl and her attacker Marik showed us before, we now have the chance to hm…_bless_ this man with our gratitude for being such an _exemplary_ example of good humanity on Earth."

Marik just stared at his brother. Their morning walk had been a barrage of painfully awkward silences, heated glares, and wearisome sniping. And now his brother, who had envied and loathed him since childhood, was defending him? Nothing about this made sense, but why look a gift horse in the mouth?

"After all, doesn't the fact that he found his way here, to God, mark his _loyalty_? In the terms of the Covenant, he must receive the Gift…eternal life here with us…"

Gasps filled the hall, even from Rishid, though he did not quite comprehend the full ramifications of this statement.

"You mean…" for once Kaiba was at a loss of words, "make him…an angel? One of us?"

"Or reincarnate him, let him enjoy life a little longer. Anything but limbo, right Marik?" He smiled, almost sweetly, at his brother. Marik couldn't help but cringe a bit under his stare. Normally, that smile meant he was about to let loose some incredibly vile and insulting remark, or even attack him for no real reason at all.

But he couldn't see how this could be a bad thing. He chanced a glance at Bakura and Yami. The former was studying his brother suspiciously while the latter was still staring, wide-eyed, at both of them. Normally, he'd go with their judgment, but…

"Yes…we shouldn't send him to _wander_ about any longer. He's made it to the right place, after all."

Perhaps he was more like his brother than he thought. At least at taking great joy in beating Kaiba down in front of the whole court.

And, maybe, regarding a certain little 'pet project'.

However, his friends, or at least one of them, still insisted on giving him his opinion on the matter.

Before Kaiba could even open his mouth to vent at the two brothers, Yami stepped in. If it hadn't been for the wind angel's ridiculously unique hair, Marik could have sworn it was Kaiba yelling at him.

"This is preposterous!"

All heads turned to look at him, and while Malik seemed unruffled, his younger brother was deeply shocked and even a little hurt to have one of his best friends disagree with him. And he was so close, too…

"I'm sorry Marik, but…while I'm sure that _you_ have only the best intentions regarding the…human," he couldn't even refer to him by name, "this is going too far! I can't stand by while His laws are twisted around to suit some…some whim!"

"A whim?" Malik smiled, never breaking his eye contact with the angered angel. "Did you hear that, brother? A _whim_ he says, is that what we all really think of this? That's not just a rebuttal…that's an insult to our beliefs, don't you think?"

His words were smooth and slipped easily past Marik's natural mental barriers against his brother's more accustomed 'phrases' to him. Though he was inclined to favor his long-established friends over his hated brother, there was an element of truth to it that appealed to his senses.

It was bad enough that his older siblings and Kaiba had to act like he was some spoiled child, but Yami too?

He fell into a loose daze then. That is, he could see and hear perfectly well, only it was as though a silk cloth had been wrapped around his eyes and stuffed into his ears. Nevertheless, he understood completely that the meeting had ended, and Rishid's fate was, while uncertain, more than likely to end in limbo. And this had all resulted from his friend's denial.

And then his brother was leading him away. Not just his brother, but a group of angels, some old and some young, that were generally seen hanging around Malik like dumb pigeons.

There was no sign of Yami, and he didn't bother to look.

Dimly, he remembered to seek out Bakura. He thought he had heard his voice, but then Malik was there, all soothing words and comforting gestures. And before he knew it, he was back in the gardens, where as of late everything seemed to be happening.

"So what are we going to do about it?"

He shook his head and swallowed thickly, and suddenly he became aware that he was sitting among the tall grasses with his brother. The other angels were there, but out of hearing range. And dangling precariously just a few feet above their heads were tree branches laden with fruit. Their scent was intoxicating.

He looked around, and Malik was still staring at him, a concerned expression on his face. Now that was new.

"What do you mean? Do about what?" His brother's gaze was very hard to meet, and so he preferred to focus on the nature around them both. Try as he might, however, he could not avoid the question entirely.

_What was the name of those flowers again? Bell-belladonna? Was that it? What did Kaiba say again…Kaiba…YAMI?! _

"The hu—Rishid, I mean."

Marik looked down down at his hands, fiddling with the golden bracelets as if he hadn't noticed they were there before. "I don't know…I don't think I have much support…" Unwillingly, the memory of Yami arguing against him came to mind.

But before he could sink into another depression, the other angel interrupted him.

"What are you talking about? Look at everyone around you! Maybe you don't know this, but they are all for your cause. Just because that little butterfly has flitted away from you to Kaiba doesn't mean you're alone. I'm here, aren't I?" In that instant, Malik's face was twisted by another emotion he didn't recognize. Was it…concern? Hurt?

Marik took a moment to process this, but then his shoulders slumped down again. "I don't trust you. Since when do you help me with anything?"

_This is all wrong…why am I here with him again? Maybe I'll just sit in that tree...what's the name of that fruit?_

"Since your friends abandoned you."

"Well, I've always trusted them before. That's something you wouldn't understand, but if he thinks it's a bad idea, then—"

"What makes you think that _that's_ his real reason for humiliating you today and dooming Rishid?"

Real confusion filled the younger boy's lavender eyes. "What do you mean by that?" Despite his caution regarding his brother, he was intrigued. He was acting so…nice, for once. Though the fact was, that they hadn't always been enemies. And this moment reminded him so much of their early childhood, before the Millenium Rod had come between them.

Once again, brief flashes of memory flowed through his mind's eye, each one as clear as the one with Yami, despite their age differences. That day so long ago…back when he and Malik were still young children, wings barely sprouted. Much like those insufferable brats that Yami taught in his spare time.

Twins are rare creations on Earth, and unknown in Heaven.

As the 'third child' of a family line including Ishuzu and Shadi, the unborn child was meant to receive the Millenium Rod as soon as he emerged from the fabled Tree of Life growing in the center of the Gardens. However, where there was supposed to be one, there were two.

And thus Marik and Malik were born, identical in every way. When they came of age, the day came when the Item was to be passed on to one of them.

And against all odds, the younger boy won the Item. And apparently lost the love of his spurned older brother, sparking years of mutual hatred and resentment on both parties.

Yet it seemed that the ages-long feud had finally come to an end.

"Now, I know that Yami is a real stickler for the rules…but surely he has other reasons for betraying his _best_ friend, right?"

Curiosity peaking slightly, Marik met his gaze fully. "I suppose so…and what would that reason be?"

His brother laughed and then replied, "Let's just say it's not only the rules he likes to follow…"

"I don't understand."

"Don't you? You're not just friends, you're _rivals_. After all, don't you have another friend that both of you like to hang around with? Scratch that, more than a friend?"

"Bakura…" he breathed softly, and in an instant all doubt of his brother washed out of his heart. The idea was…_horrifying_. All this time, that little traitor was…

"Oh yes…he knows of your infatuations. Shares it, actually. So why pass up a chance to humiliate you right in front of your little crush? I'll bet you that right now he's talking to him, swaying him over to his side…"

"Side?"

"His side of the argument, of course. At this rate, you'll be losing more than Rishid's soul."

"And…and what can I—we do about it?" Now he was panicking slightly. Wheels were turning too fast in his head, the only clear thought being that the other angel needed to be stopped, but what to do, how, who would he—

"Exactly what I was saying. And I have just the perfect idea…why not prove to your angel that you're serious about this? Prove your rival wrong? Surely you agree with me that it's one thing to argue your point and quite another to dismiss it…and don't forget, _we_ are all standing behind you…" Malik and the rest of the angels sitting around them stood up.

For the first time, Marik took in their appearances. Far from the ordinary tunics and robes they were accustomed to wearing on a day-to-day basis, their attire consisted of plated armor over thick leather. Boots covered the standard bare feet, and before his eyes swords, scrolls, daggers, weapons of every imaginable sort were drawn from their new robes. Peeking from beneath the outer shielding was a dark crimson cloth, like that of royalty.

And it was hardly the dozen or so angels that typically flanked his older brother. This was no gang, but an army…he stood up in a flash, but wasn't sure why. His head brushed one of the weighed branches slightly, and he heard a soft thud behind him. Whatever had fallen rolled slightly upon landing and brushed by his ankle. He didn't spare it a glance, knowing from the smooth feel what it was.

His brother laid a hand on his shoulder and made eye contact. Suddenly, something about his stature seemed to change. For his entire life, he had always had the impression that Malik was taller than him, much taller, enough to tower over him effortlessly. And now, they were at an equal level.

"We're brothers, aren't we? _Identical_ brothers, standing side-by-side. Can't you see it?" he twisted around, his right hand still clamped heavily down on Marik's shoulder. His left index finger pointed out to the sky, and he saw that the sun was setting.

"All those angels who scorned you in the Throne Room today, kneeling at your feet…your siblings seeing you as their equal, no, their _better_…that traitorous, back-stabbing friend of yours rightfully punished, and Bakura yours and yours alone…lend me your power now, and it will all come true…" His hand gripped tightly, almost painfully, yet it only felt reassuring and strengthening.

Reaching behind him, Marik groped for, then lifted the Millenium Rod out of his robes and held it up in the dying sun's light.

"It sets now, but it rises on what day?"

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The fading glow of the sun reflected off not just the Rod, but also off a different blade, which had been drawn and ready at its owner's side since Malik had first ushered his brother into the isolated clearing in the Gardens. Once it had set completely, however, it was replaced within the polished scabbard and dangled harmlessly in his robes once again.

Despite the absolute darkness, however, his white hair still glowed, like a moon hovering low in the sky.

Though he did not usually keep his 'other half' so close to him, this was an unusual exception. He was more than capable of defending himself without it, but he could not guarantee what potential enemies there were still lurking among the trees. He heard footsteps far from him, fading away into the distance.

And oddly enough, they were in tandem.

At least it would have seemed odd if you had not been close enough to witness the impromptu meeting. In actuality, Bakura severely doubted that it had been unplanned. He did not know how long Malik had been physically preparing for this ultimatum, but the motives had been painfully obvious for long enough.

He had not been able to hear most of their conversation, as he did not dare coming any closer, but when the two brothers had stood up, shoulder-to-shoulder, surrounded by an army dressed in blood, the end result was clear for all to see.

_And what does it come down to now…I don't know enough! What did he get talked into…at least I'm not Yami…_

The thought of the throne angel he now considered a dense idiot made him shiver slightly. Yami really had done it this time. Sure, teasing their friend over such seemingly trivial matters was one thing, but he regretted it now. Just a few minutes ago Malik, that fiend, had probably completely warped their words into something else entirely.

_Who can I trust now? Maybe Ishuzu will have some idea of what they're planning…she is their sister, after all…but…_

But their family could hardly be called one anyway. He would like to believe that Marik would not be so easily convinced to attack his own friends, but if he were seen talking with her, well…

_As the saying goes, one too many straws on the camel's back…_

He was sure that, at the very least, Marik and Yami would not be speaking civilly to each other for a long time yet, but now that Malik was involved in this, the stakes were raised. He had been a novice angel when the two were born, and there was no doubt as to what the older one wanted most.

First off, the Millenium Rod with all the symbolism it had held over them both for decades.

And for the other angels who had taken away that particular privilege to experience the same. Which was why he had to be careful around both Ishuzu and Shadi, as Malik, and probably Marik too now, loathed them both, as they had been a primary part in the final decision regarding the Rod.

Who else would be on the list? Yami definitely, as the family temper was common among all of them, and known for lasting far beyond reason.

The podium too, of course. It would be odd, for once knowing that the Eye no longer watched over them all. Or just watched them.

Kaiba would be next, not only as a threat, but the guy was just asking for it.

And now the most important question, would he be on it too? The familiar weight around his neck reassured him slightly, but he still took care to tuck the Millenium Ring beneath his trademark blue robes. He did not normally feel so possessive over it, but the thought of seeing it in someone else's hands was…repellent. Even if those were the hands of a friend. Much less Malik.

Ragnarok, still tucked in by his leg, was just as important to him as the Ring. Though he sometimes wondered whether or not it was a good choice to divide his power into two objects instead of one, he had always stayed with it by instinct. And that decision seemed better than ever at this point.

Before he even realized it, Bakura found himself in the Claustrum not far from the Gardens. He was not familiar with the area, as it was used only for prisoners and other offenders of the Lord. Unfortunately, it came as no surprise that this 'Rishid' was being held here.

The man looked upset, to say the least. A small cot, all in white of course, had been provided for him, along with all the fruit and vegetables he could want from the gardens. However, despite these provisions, he was sitting in the far corner, back to the wall and his eyes fixed on the ceiling.

Once Bakura shut the door behind him, however, he jumped to his feet in a defensive position, his hands raised. It was pointless, really, as the new occupant had no reason nor desire to hurt him.

"You are Rishid, right?"

"Oh…um, yes. And you are?" The situation seemed completely ludicrous to the man. Here he was, in the middle of the night, introducing himself to an angel. Unwittingly, a familiar Bible story came to mind. Only he wasn't a virgin. Or a woman, for that matter.

"I'm Bakura, Throne Angel of Water…I was at your trial earlier."

"Ah! I remember you, but you didn't say much. It seemed so weird that your hair was white but you were young. Then again, you have pale skin, so maybe you're an albino?" he was blabbering out of nerves by now, though he was normally pretty sober even during the more crucial and time-pressed business meetings. "But you're an angel too, I guess…immortal, right? Er, I mean—of course you are, so you're not young, you just look it, right? Or is it some sort of weird thing where you look young to trick me, only you're an angel, so why would you—"

Said angel raised his hand, eyebrows raised in amusement. Though he did not visit Earth as much as Marik did, he knew of all the strange misconceptions humans had about Heaven. At least some of them, anyway.

"Movies can be a bit misleading, Mr.--?"

"Just Rishid, thank you…" an awkward silence hung between them, and Bakura wondered why he had even come here in the first place. He needed advice, not a lesson on culture.

"Actually, maybe you could answer a few questions for me…would that be okay with you?"

He shrugged his shoulders. Even if he couldn't get any help, he could still give it. "Why not?"

Rishid swallowed, then looked the white-haired angel straight in the eye. "What are you going to do with me?"

Bakura strode over to the bed, sat down at the foot, and patted the space beside him. Almost like a child, the man walked to him and sat next to him, eyes still repeated the question silently.

"Well, not me specifically. More like Kaiba probably—the angel with short brown hair, tall, carried a pair of gold scales with an eye on them. You can guess what his job is. You'll be sent to limbo, which is where all human souls go anyway. Where you should have gone originally, though obviously some of us disagree with that…"

"Limbo"

"Not that back-breaking game. It's like---an empty space. Like a flat field covered in fog you can't see through, so there's no sense of distance. Or time, either."

"What do I do there? What's the point?" He looked confused and even a bit dismayed.

"You just wander around…for eternity…"

"Are there other people there? Like my family. Maybe even my da—"

"There are, but you won't see them. You just walk around, and eventually your soul decomposes—"

"WHAT?! You mean I-I die?!"

"You already are dead, Rishid. It's not like it'll be so shocking the next time."

"But how can I die again?"

"You won't, you'll just…lose you sense of identity. Look at it this way, try saying your name over and over again."

Now he looked even more confused, and anger had replaced dismay.

"Why should I?"

"Just do it."

He rolled his eyes, something he hadn't done since high school, and started muttering somewhat exaggeratedly, "Rishid Rishid Rishid…is that enough?"

"Keep going."

"Rishid Rishid Rishid Rishid Rishid…(pretend he keeps going here)…Rishid Rishid…" his words slurred slightly as the repetitive motions.

"Notice anything odd?"

"Well, my lips feel numb…"

"I meant about your name." Now Bakura seemed irritated at him.

"Nothing…actually, now the name feels well, weird…like it's just a bunch of sounds, you know what I mean?"

"Exactly. Now imagine what just happened to your name happens to your soul, your _existence _instead."

"That's impossible!"

"Whether or not something is possible no longer matters. Several things I thought could never happen happened today, alright?"

"You mean that big fight in the Throne-place?"

"Yes. So suppose that it can happen, what would you become?"

"Um…nothing, I suppose."

"Right. For once."

Rishid, who had previously been engrossed in the game, started and stood up at this. "But I don't want—I won't!"

"You will, unless Marik gets his say in it. Ordinarily, I 'd say you're a lost cause, but it's too late now."

"Who's Marik?"

"The tanned kid who stood up for you."

"Weren't there two?"

Bakura paused. "And that's exactly the problem. They're brothers, twin brothers, Marik and Malik. And they _never_ agree on anything. Only now they have."

"The impossible thing again?"

"What—oh, yes…you're pretty sharp for a human, you know that?"

"Was anyway, only now I'm about to be slowly and rather dully be obliterated unless your friend and his brother do something about it…will they?"

"I believe they will…" He stopped talking and looked towards the now cracked-open door. The squeak of the hinges had given the intruder away.

Without warning, the door swung open all the way, and Ishuzu stepped in. "What will they do?! Please tell me, Bakura…I can't find Marik or Malik anywhere! And other angels are missing, over a hundred, and no one knows where they went!"

He just lay down on the bed, his feet still flat on the floor. "Won't your necklace tell you what they're doing?"

"It-it won't…everything's just a blur…"

"Probably because the future has taken an unexpected turn…now it all depends on how we all act…"

"What do you mean by that?! And what are they doing!"

Rishid just watched the interchange silently. _Talk about being out of the loop…_

"Going to war, of course…"

Before Ishuzu could even recover from this, the previously-unnoticed Rishid spoke up. "OVER ME?!"

Bakura turned to him, slightly surprised. "You put that together so fast? You really _are_ a smart one. I almost hope that they win."

Now she was left confused. "What…the human? What does he have to do with all this. And what do you mean, a war?"

"Marik and Malik have teamed up with the rest of the rogue angels…probably for their own reasons. No offense Rishid, but you're not the entire issue here…not anymore."

Ishuzu was pacing around the room while rolling her necklace between her fingers. The worry and anxiety twisting her features made her look much younger than usual, a far cry from the imposing great throne she had been earlier that day.

"Hey, keep doing that. Maybe you'll get a wish?" Bakura leaned against the wall, away from what little moonlight flowed into the room through the window. His wings were lifted slightly and hooded over his face, so that only the gleam of his primary feathers and his eyes could be seen.

"Oh, shut up! Actually—no. Listen…" she pointed to Rishid first, "You…you come with me! Since you started all this, you'll have to go into our custody, away from the rogues. And you," this time she pointed to white-haired angel at the side of the room, "go call my brother and the rest of the council, so we can—"

"Don't you think that would be a little contradictory at the moment?"

"What?" She couldn't see his face, but he was probably smirking. _For God's sake, we don't have time for this right now!_

"I mean, to call him right now? They probably wouldn't let me leave, you know, and it's better to wait for a first strike, right?"

"Wait—What do you mean? You can't—"

"Or have you already disowned them both?"

Rishid looked confused at this, glancing between the two of them. However, despite the absurdity of the situation he was in, his business instincts still kicked in. After nearly fifteen years of dealing with fickle customs who he could swear had no idea how to even speak _a_ human language, he was used to putting bits of broken conversations together. A moment later, and his mind clicked.

"He's talking about the little one…you know, the twins."

Bakura started clapping, but let the sound wither away without even an echo in the still room.

"Not until he gets past all this foolishness!"

"Or it'll get him killed?"

"Exact…ly…" Her face paled slightly, and even the auburn wings sprouting from her shoulder shrank in on themselves.

"Or more accurately…he'll die for it, right? And probably by the council's hands too…"

She snapped at him, "He's still young! He'll get a mercy plea for sure! Now Malik, on the other hand…he's behind this, isn't he?"

Bakura rolled his eyes. "Well then, let's see…a couple decades of a festering grudge against practically his entire family, has wanted a Millenium item for years now, a bit of a sadist and a manipulator by nature…oh gosh, you think?"

She scowled at him, but then straightened up to her full height. "We can still put an end to this before a fight breaks out, so hurry and—" She was interrupted at that point, when the walls vibrated slightly.

Rishid ducked down by instinct, wishing slightly that said reaction had kicked in a couple hours earlier. Ishuzu's gaze was fixed on the closed door in a sort of numb terror, until Bakura, with a growl of impatience, leaped forward and seized her by the shoulders.

"Get down, before they see you!" She struggled to make a sound—probably an indignant reply—but was unable to thanks to the pale hand clamped around her mouth. He pulled her down to the floor, where Rishid caught her before she could make any contact. Following her momentum, Bakura managed to shove the group of them into a darkened corner. Outside, ominous-looking, grey clouds suddenly materialized and drifted across the moon, which had taken on an orange tint. As soon as the orb was completely obscured, the room and its three occupants fell into darkness.

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What felt like hours later, Ishuzu slowly opened her eyes.

Only to be greeted with Shadi's face, almost comically magnified thanks to his proximity. With a startled yelp, she shoved him away from her, and he toppled against the arm of one of the chairs, revealing her location in the Throne Room.

"Wh-what's going on? Where's the human, where's—"

Her older brother quickly put a stop to her panic attack, though he hardly looked any better himself. His normally neatly folded turban was slightly askew, though that may have been thanks to his sudden assault rather than his state of nerves. However, what revealed his mood most was his face, which had grown slightly rosy in hue, like whenever, she dimly remembered, he was under pressure. His hands on her face were clammy, and despite the bright morning sun, he was shivering.

"Rishid is being…questioned at the moment. Bakura came and dropped the two of you off here about two hours ago, and no one's seen him since. As you can imagine, Kaiba's in a rage, and now no one can calm him down." Despite the nervous look on his face, Shadi's voice was comfortingly familiar.

Ishuzu sat up and looked around. The sun was out, and the few clouds in the sky were fluffy and rather innocuous, making the dark smears across the moon the previous night seem more like a dream than anything else. A slow breeze ruffled her hair slightly, and the fresh air stung her sinuses slightly.

"But if he's mad, then…wait, what happened last night?! All I remember was talking with Bakura, and---oh no…there's a war coming! We have to—"

"We already know…"

She paused in the middle of her rant, in a half upright, half sitting position. "You do?"

"Yes…the holding quarters for the human were raided last night. And…and Marik and Malik were seen leading the horde. Thanks be to God that you both got out in time. Only now Kaiba's taken over defenses, and he's convinced that he's got three thrones against him now…"

"Do we know for certain?"

Shadi shrugged slightly. "No, but if that were true there probably would've already been an attack. As it is, we're already all holed up here, since it's the most secure place…"

Finally standing up, she looked down to the auditorium part of the room. The sight was an eery parallel to the trial just yesterday: it was filled to the brim of angels of every sort. Regular denizens, crying children, and then Serenity popped out of the horde and ran towards the two siblings.

"Please, you have to tell us, what's going on?! They're all panicking down there, and the only serenity down there is 'Serenity, tell us what's happening or we're going out there for a look ourselves!'"

"Obviously, we're garrisoned in here for a siege. Tell them _that_ then!" Kaiba was striding down the steps to the main Hall, his boots making loud clanking sounds against the hard marble floor. Like the several dozen guards following him, he was dressed in navy blue robes, complete with plate metal armor and heavy leather gloves and boots. His Millenium Item, the infamous scales, was perched on the podium at the front of the room. Though neither side was weighted down, the left side was skewed down, inches above the Millenium Eye, which was rotating in its wooden socket fast enough to only be a golden blur.

"Guess what I just found out from the mortal? Who, by the way, will be staying mortal until his long-delayed elimination?" His icy blue eyes had grown even colder, and there was a hard edge in his voice that made his presence all the more intimidating.

"The respectively idiot and sadist _dregs_ of your branch are going to war! And on top of that, that little kingfisher flew off somewhere! Probably with them and—"

"He wouldn't do that!" Yami emerged from the crowd, dressed in identical attire. Really though, his hair was distinctive enough that he'd never need to wear a uniform. The Millenium Puzzle was flopping clumsily around his neck, this time secured with a thick chain instead of the customary leather thong. Though a bit miffed that he hadn't come to the defense of her youngest brother, Ishuzu was still cringed at the clanging sound of the heavy item striking his iron breast-plate.

"And what makes you think that? More than one of the Thrones has already betrayed us!"

"Well…if he's not here he's not there either! I know him!" The smaller angel's voice had a slight tinge of doubt in it, destroying his credibility. Kaiba snorted at his words, though he probably would have done so anyway despite the sound.

However, when Yami turned to address the crowd, he was back at seemingly full confidence.

"Listen! We need all able angels to suit up! Children—yes, you Mokuba," he reprimanded the black-haired boy as he tried to slip away from the crowd along with the previously mentioned, "must stay here for their own protection. Anybody with healing skills should be on standby, especially for burns—"

"What?! Who's attacking us?" A young male in the crowd stood up, his rough voice distinctive. Both Yami and Kaiba groaned slightly at the sight, as this particular angel had been a nuisance for quite a while now. His first visit to Earth had apparently been rather eventful, though in truth no one really believed that there were giant lizards roaming around down there, thus forever giving him the nickname 'Rex Raptor'.

"Reports confirm that…Throne Angels Malik and Marik are leading a rebellion. And Marik's a fire element, plus an Item holder, so we should be especially careful of—"

"I'll go out and fight!" Yami groaned again, recognizing a foolish desire for a fight when he saw one. No doubt this one would be needing treatment early.

"We might as well just use him," the tall brunette had managed to creep up silently behind Yami despite the heavy armor. After all, the element of surprise is valuable, or, as many other subordinate angels put it with a human phrase picked up from earth, "freaking scary". Yami was stressed about other things at the moment, though, and so he recovered quickly.

"He'll look like one of his lizards after they're done with him!"

"Pawns always go first. Speaking of which," Kaiba looked across the field where some of the lesser ranks were already forming into groups with the commanders who had followed him into the Throne Room, "Black's already had its turn. Seems fair that white should take two, neh?"

The deafening sound of scraping stone and worn out mechanical gears running above them, and Yami leaned back to look for the source of the noise. The ceiling of the Throne Room was comically high, and even giants like Kaiba and Shadi had to crane their necks all the way back to fully appreciate the frescos elaborately etched across it like a sky of swirling paint. At the moment, however, the once-smooth expanse was breaking up into slabs of marble too large to comprehend, and the slabs were folding back in on themselves to reveal the bright blue sky above them. Already distant figures were soaring above them, too high to be recognized as friend or foe.

Kaiba's tan wings flared out behind him, and though the armor on his body was heavy, the chain mail and plates secured over the base of the feathered appendages was light and flexible enough to allow unrestricted movement, yet strong enough to take any blow.

For probably the first time in weeks, the newly-appointed commander-in-chief smiled, only this one held a malicious tint completely unlike the cold tone it had issued before.

Instead of being repelled, Yami only felt a tremendous surge of power emanate from the ornament around his neck to across his similarly protected wings. Like in his fledgling days, the urge to fly despite the fear of falling or worse was too strong to be ignored.

The last coherent thought in his head before he gave in to His will was of the missing white angel.

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With a small shunk, Bakura sheathed his weapon and removed the scabbard from his waist. He then laid it gently on the ground and patted the worn handle affectionately.

"No worries Ragnarok…" He spoke softly, yet the pulse beating within the more than inanimate object continued to rise as a distant marching was heard. The steps were in cadence, and the white-haired angel snorted.

"Not even bothering to hide themselves...are they underestimating me?" Nevertheless, Bakura did not take up the blade again, but instead pressed his gloved palm against the smooth, black scabbard firmly. With a slight shudder, the hardened earth under the fruit trees in the upper gardens rippled like water and swallowed the sword up.

He stood up and brushed himself off so his navy tunic remained undirtied. From his casual stance, one would think that he hadn't noticed the footsteps sounding through the trees. However, his thoughts proved otherwise.

_The war is over…it seems I get soldiers of a different nature…_

"Angel of the Second Great Throne Bakura?" a tall figure dressed all in white asked.

Said angel turned away from his sword's hiding place to face him. He was wearing a soldier's outfit, complete with a mask to hide his facial features and a holster wrapped around his waist. He was accompanied by three other soldiers, and though their number was small there was no nervousness from them. Whatever they had expected or did not, they were prepared for it.

Yet there was no need for their weapons as their "guest" simply nodded his head and said, "Ready to go?" Immediately two of the soldiers rushed forward without any further invitation, pulling clinking metal from their belts at the same time.

Bakura sighed and stretched his wings out.

It would be the last time.

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This isn't really the right time in the story to say this, but HOLY HELL! That was an fckng long chapter. Maybe not to some authors/readers, but this is the longest chapter I have ever written. Lately they just get longer and longer, which means it takes me longer and longer to update. Ah well...

Anyway, thank you reader/reviewer who sent in a comment to my fanart. Be sure to check it out. Unfortunately I'm tired so I can't remember the username, but you are appreciated nonetheless.

So, any questions about the chapter? Finally some action! Only I didn't write any of the war scenes, which is why it suddenly cuts over from Yami to Bakura there, because I can't write action scenes. Only poorly orchestrated plot angst. I hope it wasn't too confusing how it began with Rishid, but I wanted to give him a role _somewhere_! How'd he get into Heaven? Not by accident, though some author I like wrote that stories should answer the readers' questions, no the author, so I'll shut up now.

By the way, of my seven glorious reviewers so far, who thought that Bakura seemed a little OOC? What about Ishuzu? Despite the warning, I should probably explain myself here. Ishuzu came out all weak and "lady-like" because I needed someone to fill that role, and I couldn't imagine Shadi whipping off his turban and using it as a napkin supply.

No offense to Shi'a's anywhere. Sorry about that.

And as for Bakura...OH MY GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What's that one doing in there?!

And as for Bakura...OH MY GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's plot-related. Rest assured this may be the last (or second to last) time we see him with his semi-warped personality.

Also, my last point: I had problems with readers with a particular issue with another story. Apparently I'm too subtle, or maybe just a bad writer. Anyway: dun dun dun...in case you didn't pick this up from Yami and Marik's (which one do I put the ('s) on?) awkward conversations with Bakura and from Malik's little speech there (did you catch the fruit reference? Hmm...nobody? Really? What a shame. Perhaps we can all go back and read that part again), both Yami and Marik are in love with Bakura. Not filos. Not agatha. EROS! In my world, pretty bishounen angels can fall in love. Can they consumnate it? I haven't decided yet. And no, Bakura has no idea. Which may or may not be a plot point later.

Please review. For the love of God (please don't interpret this story as my own religious beliefs; as much as I would love it, I don't think there are pretty little angels out there, though it would be pretty awesome) review. How do I feel the love (or the hate) if you don't? Just type in something random, but it only takes a few seconds! You don't have to log-in, though it would be nice if you did.

Also, review-wise, do I make a lot of grammar mistakes? Nobody's ever mentioned it, but I don't have a beta reader, so are there any?


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